This week in 1969, American astronaut Neil Armstrong made history by becoming the first person to set foot on the moon. His timeless and famous remark at the time, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” will go down as one of the most iconic phrases of all time. Yet, when Armstrong visited Israel in 1994 …
By JONATHAN FELDSTEIN
The Altelena and Israeli Society
By JONATHAN FELDSTEIN
In the year of the 70th anniversary surrounding Israel’s independence, there are many milestones that are being celebrated. One such milestone took place June 22, 1948, that brought the newly reborn state of Israel, already defending itself from an onslaught of several Arab armies, from a state of war to the brink of a civil war. Known today as the …
By JONATHAN FELDSTEIN
Cry for Yourself Argentina
By JONATHAN FELDSTEIN
The recent cancellation by the Argentinean national soccer team to play a match against Israel’s national team in Jerusalem is more than a loss for soccer and the 30,000 fans who bought tickets to the sold out game. It is another nail in the coffin of any semblance of Argentinean pride, and another victim of, and “victory” for, Palestinian Arab …
By JONATHAN FELDSTEIN
“Toy” Wins Eurovision Music Contest for Israel
By HEZI ARIS
LISBON, PORTUGAL — May 12, 2018 — Israeli Singer Netta Barzilai captivates Eurovision to win with #MeToo inspired lyrics of her songtrack “Toy”. Infused with the refrain, “I am not your toy, you stupid boy”, the lyrics evoke a summation of the #MeToo issues women have expressed in the growing global movement against gender inequality, sexual abuse, and harassment. “Toy” …
By HEZI ARIS
The History of Israel Through the Eyes of a Tree
By JONATHAN FELDSTEIN
Seeing trees blossom and grow fruit in the Land of Israel as I leave my house every late winter and early spring morning makes me realize another way in which I am grateful to be able to live and raise my family here. When we built our house, it was important not only to plant trees, which Jews have done …
By JONATHAN FELDSTEIN
Solomon’s Wisdom, Hamas’ Cynical Stupidity
By JONATHAN FELDSTEIN
Reading about current events and the renewed Gaza demonstration incited by Hamas, I’m reminded of the well known story recounting the wisdom of King Solomon (1 Kings 3:16-28) judging to whom a baby belonged that two women each claimed as theirs. The women came to Solomon to adjudicate their dispute. One of the woman’s babies had died, and each claimed …
By JONATHAN FELDSTEIN
Rain: A Blessing and A Curse
By JONATHAN FELDSTEIN
We live in a very modern world so much so that the mere ability to read this article is the result of a sophisticated electric grid, an internet that’s turned the world into a virtual community, and any number of devices on which this can be read. Innovation and technology has abounded more in the past generation than perhaps any …
By JONATHAN FELDSTEIN
A Very Bad Polish Joke
By JONATHAN FELDSTEIN
It’s like the beginning of a bad Polish joke: a group of Polish politicians go into a room to debate their role in the Holocaust…. The problem is there’s no funny punch line, except to underscore all the other funny punch lines of many more Polish jokes before. The bill that was approved by the Polish lower house of parliament …
By JONATHAN FELDSTEIN
Ed Koch Commentary Did We Not All Say, “Never Again?” BY EDWARD I. KOCH
Readers of my commentaries know that I usually send one a week. Last week, however, I sent two because the Helen Thomas incident occurred after I had finished my regular weekly article, and I thought the Thomas affair required a response from me. I called for her to step down, which she did.